dean

That goes without saying

I personally liked the picture of several of them around a table, cooking Thai food. You can take the Thai out of Thailand but you can't take Thailand out of the Thais. My wife has been here almost 8 years and has never cooked a non Thai meal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/17/sports/golf/thai-golfers-are-making-gains-in-force-on-the-lpga-tour.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad

There weren't many Jews fighting for Kuwait freedom from Iraq. http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2011/12/01/jews-are-underrepresented-in-the-u-s-military-and-its-leadership/

Thai man arrested and charged with insulting King's dog on Facebook. He faces jail time of 37 years; 217 years in dog time.

I've tried to keep an open mind about Donald Trump but if Clarence Thomas is really his favorite Supreme Court Justice, he can kiss any chance of having my vote away.

If you can wait 25-30 years, I can push my 8 year old son, who has dual Thai-U.S. Citizenship, into a career as an Ambassador. Doing research, Americans with dual citizenship are in elective office, heads of government agencies and Ambassadors (even Ambassadors to countries where they have citizenship, along with their U.S. citizenship). While he doesn't look Thai, he does speak, read and write Thai and gets his "thainess" from his mother. I'm not sure what his positions would be but he would know enough tosay the things that please Thais. After all, "face"/appearance in Thailand is prized above everything else.

I'm sure that you understand the difference between the commercial and religious aspect of Christmas and don't have a manger sitting next to the tree. That's why I usually say Happy Holidays, because not everyone that I greet is a Christian. I'll have to quiz my Thai family on their knowledge of the religious aspect of Christmas. By the way, my wife's idea of a Christmas dinner doesn't change much from what she eats daily; rice and chicken.

I didn't know that Thais celebrate Christmas but Happy Holidays to you and everyone on this board.

Concerning Diplomacy, I think that Mongo said it best;

In case you missed my point about Diplomacy, the same thing has been going on in other countries for a long time. Paint the U.S. in an unflattering light to take attention away from themselves. Which isn't to say that the U.S. isnt hypocritical. Your reaction is just what the Junta is counting on.

I was somewhat flippant in my last remark but your views on the United States posted on this board are well known but no one is demeaning you for posting them. I don't know much about Davies but, after googling his name and reading about him for 30 minutes, he seems to be much better as Ambassador than his female predecessor. Several points; his criticism was toward the jail sentences given for less malaise; two, it takes only one person in a country of 70 million to start a criminal investigation; and three, the Junta could have handled it two ways. They chose the public way, just as they did in allowing Thais to carry pictures of the King and protest in front of the U.S. embassy. Diplomacy is a two way street.

You must not know many Thais

Most of you probably already know this but I just read that, as of January 1, 2016, extra pages will no longer be added to U.S. Passports. Instead of buying 24 pages packets for $82, you will have to get a new Passport for $110. You can get the packet of pages through December 31.

Holly Woodlawn, transgender Warhol star name-checked in ‘Walk on the Wild Side,’ dies http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article48451855.html

I was in Orlando last week and television news reported a dog being eaten by a gator, which is a problem in Florida. I didn't know that they also went after people. Maybe, just drunk people.

Actor Robert Loggia, whom you might remember from Scarface, Pritzi Honor and Independence Day, and who danced on a giant piano board with Tom Hanks in Big, died from dementia at age 85. A very good character actor, RIP!

No military parade for my son, who turns 8 years old today. He was born in Chiangmai by C-section. His due date was December 22 but his Doctor decided to do the C-Section on December 5. I wonder if most C-Section births in Thailand in December are performed on December 5 and are there a lot more Thais with a December 5 birthday (than there would be by averages)?

Carol Doda, who perfected modern stripping in San Francisco, died at age 78. http://pictorial.jezebel.com/carol-doda-famed-stripper-and-lounge-performer-dies-a-1742146043

I'm definitely glad that I didn't go to the parade. City officials yesterday estimated around 250,000 people. The mayor's office just tweeted that the number was closer to 800,00 people. The population of the metro area is 2,400,000 people, so one third of the population was downtown, in a 16 square block area. The parade had more than twice the number of viewers than any other event in our history (the dedication of Liberty Memorial after World War I probably comes in second). It shouldn't be quite as bad leaving downtown, as many will continue the party at various bars downtown and midtown.

I didn't go to the parade, which starts now (12 CST) and it's just as well, as people leaving at 10 by car has a 3 hour trip to downtown (normally 20 minutes on average). I'll watch it on TV

We would take Scotland as a participant but it's difficult to slide into a base wearing a kilt.

We didn't follow the tradition of other cities that win a Championship and torch a car or three. The parade is tomorrow and the town will shut down for it. Or the 5 World Series games, between 80-90% of all televisions in KC were tuned to the games. Although there are no Kiwis in the major leagues, most of central and South America are represented, along with Japan. Those Thai 360 members living near London could have seen another KC sports team last Sunday, beating the Detroit Lions 45-10 at Wembly stadium. I'm off now to a local watering hole, where it's rumored that several baseball players will pick up the tab for drinks, just like last year in the playoffs.

The Kansas City Royals topped last year, when they were 90 feet away from tying the score in the 7th game of the 2014 WS, by winning it all this year in 5 games. From being the punch line for jokes over the last 30 years, they are now, unquestionably, the best team in baseball. If you will excuse my exuberance, it took 30 years to win their second championship and I may not be around for the next one, if it takes another 30 years. Great job, Royals!

Maureen O'hara, Irish actress and film collaborator with director John Ford and John Wayne, died at age 95. I've always had a thing about good looking Irish red headed women, so Maureen O'hara was at the top of that list. I've probably watched "The quiet man" at least 20 times and have repeatedly visited most of the sites shown in the film. Her mother lived to be 100 and Maureen often said she would live at least to that age. She almost made it. RIP!